Take Heed

Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

1 Corinthians 10:12

On September 26, 1960, Vice President Richard Nixon debated John Kennedy, the Democratic presidential candidate, in the first-ever televised presidential debates. Nixon was warned not to accept Kennedy’s challenge to debate, but he didn’t listen. Instead, he arrived at the debate tired, needing a shave, and baggy-eyed, while Kennedy was tanned, youthful, and rested. Nixon lost both the debate and the election.

Pride makes us believe things that are not true. Vice President Nixon was an experienced debater and felt he didn’t need to prepare in order to beat his youthful challenger. Nor did he take into account the power of television to project an image, good or bad. That’s what pride does—it makes us think reasonable things are unreasonable, and vice versa. The Bible warns us often about the deceitfulness of pride—about thinking we are invincible and not able to fall. It is at that moment that we are most vulnerable, most likely to be proven wrong. If you are feeling prideful right now, be forewarned.

God loves to lift the humble up and will not hesitate to allow the prideful to fall. Choose the upward direction. It’s a much softer landing than the alternative.

He that is down need fear no fall,

He that is low, no pride.

JOHN BUNYAN